Loose leaf book binders



July 19, 1938. E. E. H. BEHNKE LOOSE LEAF'BOOK BINDERS Filed March 24,1937 Patented July 19, 1938 UNITED STATE PATENT OFF EverettE. H. Behnke,Manitowo c Wis-.Qass'ignor] to The, E. and.B., Manitowoe, Wis.

Application March .24., 1937, Serial o; 132mm My invention referstoloose-leaf binders, and it has for its object to provide a simple,economical, and effective metallic clip unit, a plurality of which areutilized to bind together loose 5 leaves, and in some instances a cover,the leaves and cover having the usual plurality of perforationsat theirbinding edges for the reception of the individual clips.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pair of legs extendingfrom the clip with means for locking the same together after the clipsare threaded through the perforations of the leaves.

Anotherobject of my invention is to provide the clip leg of differentlengths, whereby the longer leg may be folded over its companion legsectionalelevation of a book or catalog, theleaves and cover of whichare bound together by a clip embodying the features of my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same, with one of, the back covers foldedopen, and one of the clips being illustrated partly in section, asindicated by line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of one of my clips,illustrating in connection therewith a plurality of leaves and covers inthe process of threading or binding the same.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one form of the clip unit.

Referring by characters to the drawing, Figures 1 and 2, |-l indicate acover, and 2 a plurality of leaves fitted therein. The cover, asillustrated, is in one piece, and folded upon itself over the bindingedges of the leaves. The cover is provided with a plurality of alinedapertures 3-3, and the leaves are also provided With apertures 4-4 attheir binding edges. While these apertures are shown or illustrated asround, obviously their formation and shape may be varied indefinitely.

A circular loop 5 of the clip extends through of leaf perforations.

the two seriesfof perforations, and the base portion of said loop istrained around the binding edges ofboththe'v cover and leaf, the sameextending outsideofythe cover, as shown. The clip, as illustrated, is"vformed from a fiat metal ribbon, preferably with rounded-edgeaasindicated at X Figure-2, wherebyyliability of snagging the leaves maybeavoided. The loop 5 of said clip terminateswith a short leg 6, and a,slightly longer leg 1. After the loop .is threaded through the book, thelegs are'brought together, and the end 1 of the longer leg is foldedover the end of the shorter leg, whereby a permanent binder lock iseffected. Obviously, in assembling the book or catalog for the purposeof binding with my clip, the said clips may be correctly spaced in atemplate of any desired formation to correspond with the distancebetween the series As illustrated in Figure 3, the legs being initiallyspaced apart, as shown, the first cover section is threaded into theclip loop by means of the shorter leg 6. In this particular instance,the covers are illustrated as separate elements, and hence the firstcover element is threaded into the loop, and thereafter the desiredvolume of leaves are threaded into the loop. After the first cloversection and leaves are assembled, the next cover section is threadedupon the opposite leg I, it being noted that the end 1' is disposed at aslight angle extending in the direction of the shorter leg 6.

The leg end 1 constitutes a lip, which is normally positioned at aslight angle to its associated leg proper, within a line of fold issharply defined, and this line of fold is approximately equal to thefull width of the companion short leg 6. Hence, it will be seen that theleg end I will fiex about the fold line upon folding the leg end 1 toclamp the pair of legs together, and insure uniform clamping of theextension I with relation to the pair of legs to bind the same.Obviously, when it is desired, this fold section or end 1 can bestraightened or bent out, whereby the union as a whole can readily beremoved from the gang of leaves.

Hence, after the final cover element is adjusted in position, the cliplegs are brought together, and the extension I of the longer leg is thenfolded over the end of the shorter leg to form a permanent binder, thisfold being effected by f any suitable compressing tool.- In practice, atool may be used which will simultaneously fold the entire series ofclip legs in a single operation. It is also understood that the clipsmay bemade of spring metal, in which instance the terminal legs may benormally held together, and thereafter spread for the purpose ofthreading said clip as a binder element for the group of the perforatedsheets. It is understood that this binder may be used in connection withany form of book or catalog, and the leaves, if desired, can be removedby opening up the folded lock between said legs.

In some instances it is Within the scope of my invention to form theclip units from a wire strand round in cross section, in which instancethe terminals of the legs may be flat for the purpose of effecting alock.

In practice I have found that the most desirable metal for use inconnection with the clips is aluminum, but, obviously, they may beformed of any other suitable material, and owing to the fact that theseclips are formed from a continuous strand or ribbon, it is manifest thatcheapness in manufacture would result. Any suitable cutting and formingmachine may be employed for cutting and stamping the clips into propershape by practically a single operation.

As shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, the last cover element is indicatedin dotted lines as be ing folded back or open, and, obviously, theleaves will also readily fold back upon the cover, whereby any desiredleaf is readily accessible. Particu lar attention is called to the factthat owing to the loop arrangement, the leaves sliding back over saidloop will form a fiat, open book.

7 varied indefinitely as to width.

While I have shown and described certain forms of my invention minutelyas to detail, it

- is understood that I may vary the structural features within the scopeof the claim.

I claim:

A loose-leaf binder clip unit comprising a metal loop terminating withcompanion legs, one of said legs being formed with a foldable extensionpositioned at an angle to the main portion of the leg whereby the lineof fold is positively defined at the end of the pair of legs proper, thelegs of each independent clip being adapted to pass through alinedapertures of book sheets and thereafter locked together by folding theend extension of one of the legs about the end portion of the companionleg.

EVERETT E. H. BEHNKE

